A man has been charged with murder following the death of a former hotelier.

Dominic Dalton, 42, of Crown Street, Brighton, was due to appear before Brighton and Hove magistrates today.

The dead man is believed to be Bernard Murphy, 79, who also lived in Crown Street.

He was discovered by police at his home in the early hours yesterday.

Mr Murphy, whose dog Trilby was being cared for by friends today, was from Ireland and worked as a hairdresser in London before running an hotel in Kemp Town, Brighton.

He is believed to have lived with a younger man who was his lodger.

The death stunned neighbours in the small cul-de-sac of terraced cottages off Western Road.

Kate Page was woken at about 3am when police arrived.

She said: "It has come as a terrible shock to everyone. He was a lovely old character, a bit of a rascal. It is very, very sad."

Ms Page, who has lived in the street for six years, said the cul-de-sac was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else and the man was a well-known face in the area.

She said: "It's like a little village round here. We would happily go into each other's homes."

Ms Page said the dead man was often seen out and he would open up his small house to the whole street each Christmas for a party. Ms Page said: "His friends are going to be devastated. There is a group of them all about the same age who would toddle off for a drink together regularly."

Another resident said: "He was a really nice man. This has shocked everyone."

Police cordoned off the top end of Crown Street and spent yesterday conducting house-to-house inquiries.

A post mortem was being carried out by a Home Office pathologist.